...this is a photo of the shower at Acculax. It's built right into the rocks, out of the image is a boulder that juts out for a low table. The towel bar is a bit of coffee wood. Everything in Acculax is made local material, and no two rooms are the same. Of course, they were all built one at a time, with the next addition fitting where it would. Elegantly done, thoughtfully done.
This is the house beside Posada Bosque Encantado, where Cecilia and her husband (we didn't meet him) and children live. I love the doors and the balcony!
The single, tall thing in this photo is a tree. San Juan la Laguna, from the San Pedro dock. I didn't see another tree as tall and straight as that one!
We've met a lot of young Eurpean, North American and South American men and women, taking advantage of their winter break from college classes. But, most of those travelers have gone home now. The travelers we're meeting now are mostly older people, looking for adventure, with a little bit of comfort. A hotel with hot water, transportation that someone else arranges, good food. All in an exotic, remote location. Oh, and warm weather!
In between all the travelers, we're spending time talking with locals. Often, a man will strike up a conversation with one of us. If Stuart is the object of the question, he'll call me over, and I do the listening. Many of the men we've talked to have been in the US for a short time. Two things strike me about their stories: they are VERY proud they've been to the US; and they are VERY proud of the jobs they had. Many worked in landscaping and construction jobs. I asked them all about their jobs, if they were good jobs. The response I got, each time, was a big grin, and an emphatic yes. I usually heard how much money they made, too. $10/hour. That's more than some people earn in a day. I also learned they are VERY happy to be back home, and always grinned when I said, "Bienvenidos a Guate!" (Welcome to Guatemala!) When I asked if they were considering going back to work, the answer was always no. It's too expensive. I never heard that it was dangerous, and if I asked about the danger, I got a shrug in response. A coyote cost $5,000US, we heard several times. And, that's from the Mexican/US border; they have to travel through Mexico first. I met three young men traveling together one day, they were from Honduras. We spent time looking at my Guatemala and Mexico maps, talking about their plans and dreams, and they practiced their little bit of English. They told me they were heading for the Mexican border, in Chiapas, where they heard there was work. I can't imagine the desperation that would cause someone to illegally cross two international borders, just to find work.
More than once, I was asked to write down some basic English words. They wanted to be able to say, 'how are you?' mostly. 'please', 'thank you', and 'good morning' were also requested. One man asked me how much his quetzales are worth in US dollars. They all told me about their families: siblings and parents, spouses or girlfriends sometimes, and children. They asked about our families and jobs, where we were going, and how long we'd be there, and if we liked their country. Basic stuff, but with genuine interest for us all. I have to say that the Guatemalan people are genuinely the warmest, friendliest people we've ever met. We felt like they really wanted us to love their country. It surely wasn't hard to fall in love with such open-hearted people.
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